The federal government did not provide funds for the Chinese vaccine in SP and only invested in Oxford, says secretary | Saint Paul

The management of João Doria (PSDB) tries to negotiate for Coronavac to receive a federal incentive to be distributed by SUS, if the effectiveness is proven in the third phase of tests. In an interview with G1, The secretary said that the purchase of additional doses, in addition to the 61 million already guaranteed by the state government, becomes “unviable” without federal funds.

In a virtual meeting held this afternoon, the Ministry of Health presented a vaccination schedule for the population against the coronavirus for 2021. According to Gorinchteyn, who participated in the meeting along with other secretaries of state, the federal government only considered buying the vaccine from AstraZeneca, developed by the University of Oxford. THE G1 He looked for the Ministry of Health and awaits positioning.

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“Why does a vaccine like Coronavac, which is on the same base as Oxford, in fact even more advanced, receive a different treatment? That was a question we ended up asking ourselves and all the secretaries understood. If I have vaccines, we are in the same stage of discussion, why does Oxford receive a provisional measure with R $ 1.9 billion? We are not even asking for this amount, but we want a go-ahead from the Ministry in the procurement of vaccines as well. This is something democratic, “he told G1.

In previously published estimates, the São Paulo government said that it was negotiating with the Health Ministry the same investment of around R $ 1.9 billion for CoronaVac.

As the secretary reaffirmed this Wednesday, R $ 85 million would be allocated to the clinical study and another R $ 60 million to the renovation of the Butantan Institute factory. The remaining quantity would allow the vaccine supply to reach 100 million doses by May 2021.

Of that total, the secretary affirms that the government “stirred” R $ 92 million, but the funds have not yet been released.

“They were [seriam] R $ 85 million from the study, plus 65 million from the expansion of the factory, totaling R $ 145 million. And then there was a wave of R $ 80 million and then they were sent, a value of R $ 92 million is being evaluated in the technical cameras ”, he says.

The São Paulo government signed a contract to receive 46 million doses of Coronavac by December this year. The forecast is for the total to reach 60 million by February 2021 and the expectation was that, with money from the federal government, the total could reach 100 million.

The secretary says that the government is still negotiating for the money to be delivered and that Governor Joao Doria must go to Brasilia to speak directly with the Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello.

“We will receive these 60 million, there will be 61 million doses by the end of February, with the possibility of having another 40 million by May. These 61 million doses are guaranteed. The rest, to reach 100 million, is that the acquisition by Butantan became unfeasible, due to an economic issue ”, highlighted the secretary.

When asked what the state government plans to do if the federal government maintains its position of not buying CoronaVac doses, Gorinchteyn said there is a plan for immunization to take place at the state level.

“We have an immunization plan for the state, if that happens, but I mean, this is not what we want. We want the vaccine to come from Brazil, not from São Paulo. We would like to extend this vaccine to Brazilians and we would like to pass it through the Unified Health System to distribute it in the national immunization program, “he added.

The agreement for the purchase of 46 million doses was signed by Doria and Weining Meng, director of the Sinovac laboratory, during a press conference at Palácio dos Bandeirantes. At the same event, the governor announced that Vaccination of health professionals should begin on December 15..

The Coronavac vaccine is still being tested among Brazilian health professionals. Until now, 7 thousand volunteers have already participated in the research, according to the director of the Butantan Institute, Dimas Covas. The goal is to involve 13,000 people in the research.

Regarding the amount paid by the state of SP to Sinovac, Doria said that the signed contract is for 90 million dollars. By December, the pharmaceutical company will send 6 million doses of the ready-made vaccine, while another 40 million will be filled in São Paulo, according to the government.

However, the governor did not clarify if this figure refers only to the purchase of the 46 million doses that should arrive in 2020, or if it also includes doses that should be delivered only in 2021. Doria also did not specify whether the value of $ 90 million it is added to the R $ 85 million that, in June, the state government declared to have paid for the agreement.

Vaccine for all Brazilians

The governor of São Paulo has already promised that the entire population of the state will receive the vaccine against Covid-19 until February 2021. He said that there is an “alternative plan” for the state of SP, in case there is no agreement with the federal government . for national distribution.

“To the Brazilians of São Paulo, yes, I guarantee that we will have the vaccine, CoronaVac, to serve the entire population of São Paulo, already at the end of this year and during the first two months of 2021, and we will immunize them,” he said. Doria on September 21.

The state of São Paulo has some 44 million inhabitants, according to IBGE. However, CoronaVac testing in volunteers is done with two doses of the vaccine per person.

Throwing with 50% effectiveness

Dimas Covas has already stated that the São Paulo government will request Anvisa to release the emergency use of Coronavac if the vaccine shows at least 50% effectiveness in preliminary analysis.

A 50% effectiveness is not necessarily the ultimate goal of the vaccine., but a minimum value to be obtained in an intermediate analysis that should take place until November. This analysis compares how many volunteers had coronavirus among those who took the vaccine and those who took placebo.

The phase 3 study divides the volunteers into two equal groups: half of the participants receive the vaccine and the other half, a placebo. Participants do not know which group they belong to. For the Coronavac interim analysis to be performed, it is necessary that at least There are 61 cases of Covid-19 among 13,000 volunteers, whether they are members of the vaccine group or the so-called control group.

The study should also have a second analysis, called a primary analysis, which is performed when the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases among the 13,000 volunteers reaches 154 cases.

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